1. Jupiter in Sagittarius -- (Nov. 24, 2006 to Dec. 18, 2007)

Late last November, Jupiter left the sign of Scorpio, where it had been since October 25, 2005, and entered Sagittarius where it will remain until December 18, 2007.

Within two weeks of Jupiter's ingress into Sagittarius, where Pluto has spent the last 12 years, they were joined by Mercury, the Sun and Venus. On December 8, Mars followed suit, becoming the sixth planet in a rare Sagittarian stellium.

Jupiter is the planetary ruler of Sagittarius and the largest planet in orbit around our sun; in fact, it is theorized by some that Jupiter is a "failed star" itself. When any planet travels through a sign that it rules, the planet's energies tend to be amplified. When the planet in question is 2.5 times more massive than all the other planets in the solar system combined, this effect could be particularly tangible.

Jupiter was revered by many ancient cultures as a King among Gods; in Vedic mythology, he was Dyaus Pitar, the Sky Father. To the Ancient Romans, Jupiter was their patron deity, his name a derivation of "God-Father," and he was believed to rule over issues of law and social order. [1]

Sagittarius is symbolized by the Centaurs of Greek mythology; a wild and anarchistic tribe of archers, half-man, half-beast. The most civilized among them was Chiron, a renowned teacher and healer who ultimately sacrificed himself to save Prometheus, who stole fire and gave it to mankind, from an eternity of torment at the hands of Zeus. In modern astrology, Sagittarius and its ruling planet are associated with idealism, spirituality and the pursuit of higher wisdom.

Seeker of Truth and Justice, however, is only half the story represented in the Centaur's eternal struggle between divinity and the animal side of one's nature. The shadow side of Sagittarius is expressed in self-righteousness, extremism, dogmatic beliefs -- and intolerance for everyone else's. In the collective shadow, we see religious fanaticism, institutionalized bigotry and abuses of patriarchal authority.

Whether Jupiter's transit through its own sign will magnify the loftier ideals of Sagittarius -- empowering us to fire arrows of truth through the Saturn-Neptune "fog of war" alignment that dominates the year -- or merely add fire to the fuel, only time will tell.

Previous transits of Jupiter through Sagittarius in the late 20th Century:
February 10, 1959 -- March 1, 1960
January 14, 1971 -- February 6, 1972
December 26, 1982 -- January 19, 1984
December 9, 1994 -- January 3, 1996

2.  Pluto Conjunct the Galactic Center -- December 29, 2006 (1st of 3 Conjunctions)

Pluto and the Galactic Center spent the month of December 2006 within one degree of each other at 26+ degrees Sagittarius. In fact, approximately half of our known solar system crossed that very same degree in December, including Venus on the 8th, the Sun on the 18th and Mercury on the 25th. Mars will be the last of the Sag stellium to cross the exact degree of the GC-Pluto conjunction and this occurs on January 13, 2007.

The astrological Pluto, ice-dwarf planetoid of the Underworld, represents transformation; death and rebirth, the processes of purging and purification that necessarily precede creation. The Galactic Center is the recently-discovered super-massive black hole heart of our spiral galaxy, its unimaginable appetites simultaneously devouring and powering the swirling of billions of stars and satellites in orbit around it. Some astrologers believe that the GC's symbolic character is similar to that of Pluto -- multiplied by a bazillion.

"Pluto refers to the masses, or the power of the collective as it acts through certain individuals. If we consider the Galactic Center to be a command post for humanity's cultural, political and technological evolution, then its activation precipitates movement against the status quo at a variety of levels." [2]

When these two powerhouses come into conjunction the predicted effects cover a wide range of possibilities; from massive political, spiritual, societal and tectonic upheaval to a mind-meld with the infinite during which humanity will be poised to download divine, galactic wisdom directly from the source of all creation. For clues, we can look at previous conjunctions, the most recent of which occurred in 1758-1760.

In 1760, battles were being fought on nearly every continent; every major world power was involved in the conflict collectively known as the Seven Years' War. Winston Churchill referred to it as "the first world war." In North America, it was called the French and Indian War and it actually stretched on for nine years, only to be rekindled shortly after its conclusion in the form of the US War of Independence.

At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was conquering Palestine and Egypt, Hernán Cortés was making a fateful landfall in Mexico and Ferdinand Magellan was embarking on his history-making campaign to circumnavigate the earth.

3.  Mars Conjunct Pluto-GC -- January 13, 2007, 10:02 am GMT

On January 13, 2007, Mars conjunct Pluto will be in a loose trine to Saturn retrograde which is moving back into opposition to Neptune.

Mars and Pluto, co-rulers of the sign of Scorpio, have a few characteristics in common, not the least of which is notoriety -- even among people unfamiliar with other astrological terminology -- for both are associated with violence. Even the colors associated with Mars and Pluto are alarming shades of red, from the shocking orange-red of Mars' dust-stained skies to the dried-blood red of Chanel's Vamp nail polish, best seller of 1994, the last year Pluto spent in Scorpio.

"This transit represents a strong alliance of similar energies. A sense of mystery pervades otherwise mundane events. Aggressiveness peaks. Care should be taken to secure your holding, protect your possessions and yourself, for this transit includes some vulnerability to the principle of redistribution." [3]

Previous events occurring under recent Mars-Pluto conjunctions include a series of Russian apartment bombings that culminated in mid-September 1999, killing almost 300 people and leading the nation into the Second Chechen War. Violence that erupts under this influence often has an ancestral or tribal connection, like blood feuds that go on for generations, deeply rooted in long-forgotten offences against familial honor.

The power of Mars-Pluto to arouse the passions of the masses can often result in tragedy, however, over the weekend of February 16, 2003, at least "10 million people in over 600 cities worldwide" [4] demonstrated against the coming war in Iraq, making it the largest anti-war protest ever to take place before the war had occurred. Pluto can provide focus for the forceful energies of Mars and channel them in the right direction to achieve a positive result, which makes it an interesting contrast to similar activities taking place under the conjunctions of Mars and Neptune, as we shall see.

4.  Saturn Opposite Neptune -- February 28, 2007, 12:01 pm GMT (2nd of 3 Oppositions)

In addition to Saturn opposing Neptune on February 28, Mercury will have just turned retrograde, traveling backwards through the final degrees of Aquarius to form a sextile to Pluto in Sagittarius. Over the next month, Mars in Aquarius will slowly move into conjunction with Neptune and opposition with Saturn, the latter alignment reaching exactitude on March 25, 2007.

The dynamic aspects of the Saturn-Neptune cycle have presided over some of the most revolutionary periods in recent history, from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 to the establishment-shaking Vietnam War protests of the early 70s. There are historical correlations between their dynamic aspects and the rise and fall of Soviet Communism as well as the secretive, imperialist machinations of the United States in the governments of other nations. There are also connections to some of the most high-profile and controversial death penalty cases of the last century, many of those in which international politics was a factor either behind the scenes or used as a patriotic façade.
                                                                      
"The Saturn-Neptune cycle forces us to examine our beliefs and how our institutions are honoring them; systems that are failing can suddenly crumble; others can be torn down and remade, stronger. By temporarily throwing the big picture into sharp focus, these two planets open windows of opportunity for societal transformation. Under their influence, the most powerful forces on earth can change hands, for better or worse." [5]

5.  Mars Conjunct Neptune - March 25, 2007, 5:39 pm GMT

On March 25, 2006 Mars conjuncts Neptune in Aquarius and loosely opposes Saturn in Leo. The approach of Chiron to within eight degrees of Neptune may significantly augment the martyr-savior tone already associated with these alignments.

In recent history, during an exact conjunction of Mars and Neptune on November 30, 1999, the anti-globalization movement became a household name when more than 40,000 people converged in downtown Seattle to protest the WTO conference. [6] A weeklong standoff with law enforcement ensued, eventually forcing a cancellation of the opening ceremonies. The well-documented abuses that protesters suffered at the hands of riot police, including being tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets, drew worldwide attention and greatly increased support for their cause.

When Mars and Neptune conjoined in May 2003, there was a sharp rise in suicide bombing attacks in Russia and Chechnya, many of which were carried out by women. Terrorist attacks also killed dozens of civilians in Casablanca and Riyadh in the summer months surrounding this transit.

During the most recent conjunction in April 2005, Eric Francis wrote, "These days we are in the stranger than fiction experience of Mars conjunct Neptune, which is stirring the imagination, firing up the delusions of certain people in certain quarters, and casting further confusion on the nature of truth and lies. Yet this aspect also comes with a sense of raging idealism, combining Aquarius, fiery Mars and deeply sensitive Neptune." [7]

"Beware sensationalism, sentimentality, self-indulgence; fight subconscious urges, suppressed desires and make your inner ego work for you along constructive lines. This is an excellent period for creative work, for impersonal use of magnetism for business ends and aims and for social popularity." [8]

6. Saturn Opposite Neptune -- June 25, 2007, 3:54 pm GMT (3rd of 3 Oppositions)

As Saturn and Neptune make their third and final opposition on June 25, an opposition between Venus and Chiron forms just a few degrees away; within an orb of 6 degrees, Venus is conjunct Saturn in Leo and Chiron is conjunct Neptune in Aquarius.

During this cycle's dynamic aspects, there are often dramatic demonstrations of the influence of oil in global conflicts and environmental disasters. Whether spilling into the ocean, as in the Exxon Valdez accident of 1988 and the post-Katrina spills of 2005, or burning out of control and blackening the sky for miles as in Kuwait in 1990 and London in December 2005, the world's most-traded commodity frequently becomes front-page news under Saturn and Neptune.

Extreme weather patterns, notably hurricanes and floods, also increase during these transits and high-profile aviation disasters seem to occur with stunning regularity. Examples include the Hindenburg fire of 1938 and the 1972 Andes crash on which the movie "Alive" was based.

During the 1988 conjunction, two commercial airline crashes occurred from which the repercussions are still being felt today. In July, an Iranian passenger plane was mistakenly shot down by the USS Vincennes, killing 290 civilians; six month later, 270 people were killed when plastic explosives hidden in the cargo hold of Pan Am flight 103 ripped a hole in the fuselage over Lockerbie, Scotland.

7.  Pluto Conjunct Galactic Center - July 16, 2007 (2nd of 3 Conjunctions)

In addition to Pluto making its second conjunction to the Galactic Center on July 16, the Sun in Cancer will be sesquiquadrate Jupiter in Sagittarius and Mercury, also in Cancer, will be sesquiquadrate Neptune in Aquarius. Mars in Taurus will be close to a sextile with Uranus in Pisces and will then form a square aspect to Chiron in Aquarius and the Saturn-Neptune opposition shortly thereafter.

The Pluto-GC conjunction "heralds important transformations in our cultural attitudes and the ways in which we interpret and incorporate ideas of religion, literature and science, or higher knowledge. [For example,] the gestation of the Reformation, sparked by Martin Luther's protest. His nailing of the 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral occurred in 1517 as Pluto progressed beyond the Galactic Center and into Capricorn." [9]

Prior conjunctions in "27 AD, 520, 1016 and 1511 marked general times in the past two thousand years when a global power shift was occurring, and old systems of control were being circumvented. So perhaps seeds of what is to come in these 500 year "seasons" of a millennium are revealed when Pluto conjuncts the Galactic Center." [10]

8.  Saturn in Virgo -- September 2, 2007, 1:49 pm GMT (until October 29, 2009 5:09 pm GMT)

Saturn enters Virgo on September 2 for the first time since 1980, ending its transit through Leo which began on July 16, 2005. Over the subsequent 24 hours, Mars in Gemini forms a square to Uranus in Pisces, while Mercury moves through the final degrees of Virgo making a square to Pluto and its ongoing conjunction to the Galactic Center. Pluto is less than a week from stationing direct and Venus will follow suit the next day.

Saturn made three transits through the detail-oriented, disciplinarian sign of Virgo in the last century:

August 1919 - October 1921 -- In October 1919, Prohibition began in the US. In November, confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity was announced and health officials declared that the Spanish Flu Pandemic was over. On January 28, 1920, Turkey gave up the Ottoman Empire and its territories were divided among the victorious powers of the First World War. On August 26, the 19th Amendment was passed guaranteeing women the right to vote.

September 1948 - November 1950 -- On December 10, 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In May 1949, one year after declaring itself a nation, Israel was admitted to the U.N. and signed armistice agreements with the Arab nations it had been at war with since the day after that declaration (Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan and Syria).

In June 1949, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy's "Red Scare" began and President Truman ordered the development of a hydrogen bomb in response to the Soviet Union's first nuclear test. In Calcutta, a Virgo nun named Sister Mary (later known as Mother) Teresa embarked on a lifetime of charity work.

November 1977 - September 1980 -- On June 22, 1978, Pluto's satellite Charon was discovered. On September 17, the Camp David Peace Accords were signed between Israel and Egypt. In November, the One Child Policy was introduced in China and cult leader Jim Jones led 918 of his followers in a mass murder-suicide. On February 7, 1979 Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since the movements of both planets had been recorded.

During that same week, the exiled cleric Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran, sparking the Islamic Revolution. Six months later, 3,000 students took control of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran sparking a hostage crisis that would last 444 days. On December 24, 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

9.  Pluto Conjunct Galactic Center -- October 28, 2007 (3rd of 3 Conjunctions)

On October 26, 2007 Pluto makes its third and final conjunction to the Galactic Center, an aspect that just a handful of the trees alive today will be here to see when it comes around again in 2255. Other aspects occurring on this day include a loose grand trine between the Sun in Scorpio, Mars in Cancer and Uranus in Pisces. Jupiter is moving into conjunction with Pluto and Saturn is gradually moving into an opposition with Uranus.

10.  Pluto enters Capricorn -- January 26, 2008 (until January 21, 2024)

Due to Pluto's eccentric orbit, the time it spends in each sign varies from twelve to thirty two years. Pluto has spent the last quarter-century gaining speed as it moved through Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, spending just about 12 years in each sign.

Capricorn traditionally rules over the realms of politics and hierarchical organizations; government institutions, legislative and authoritative bodies, corporations and other modern bureaucratic systems. The last Pluto in Capricorn transit took place from 1762-1778, during which time Catherine the Great, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette ruled in Europe and the United States declared its Independence from the British Empire.

This was the final phase of the Age of Enlightenment, "an intellectual movement which advocated reason as a means to establishing an authoritative system of aesthetics, ethics, government, and logic, which would allow human beings to obtain objective truth about the universe." [11] This movement gave rise to the Industrial Revolution and as well as the bloodier ones that would soon occur in the United States and France.

"As Pluto moves through the signs... it removes the comfort zone that humanity took for granted in connection with each sign and, when Pluto leaves that sign, something has been changed forever." [12]

"The US was born in revolution, so likewise, the US' Pluto return will bring us back to that state of liberation and revolt. Throughout history, Pluto in Capricorn brings revolution, but leaves us with a system less tyrannical and less conservative." [13]

"Sometimes these major influences bring low what rose to prominence on the previous cycle. The Ottoman Empire grew to greatness under Suleiman the Magnificent when Pluto was in Capricorn in 1515 to 1530, as he took over Arabia, captured Belgrade and attacked Vienna. Next time round... in 1768, the Ottoman Empire lost Crimea, the effective end of the great empire." [14]

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